Durex Appoints McCann Worldgroup as Global Brand Lead

MRM and McCann Worldgroup have won the central brand guardian assignment for the Reckitt brand – Durex across Europe and the USA. The decision extends the wider McCann Worldgroup footprint with Reckitt, building on the strength of its existing relationship working on a raft of global brands including Lysol and Enfamil. McCann London has a long-held partnership with Nurofen and Dettol brands, and MRM New York work with Durex in the US. The network also partners with several major US-only brands. 

The assignment kicks off an extended relationship for the network with the Durex brand. A core team led out of MRM UK - in partnership with McCann London’s strategy and creative capability - will collaborate with McCann Worldgroup agencies across Europe, including Germany, France, and Italy, to provide global brand guidance, and local brand activation, with deliverables including a global to local brand playbook and distinctive brand assets comprising brand platforms, marketing campaigns and toolkits for the Durex brand.

Rikke Wichmann-Bruun, CEO, MRM UK said, “We are so thrilled to have this amazing opportunity to work with such an iconic brand. Our partnership with Durex is born out of our client-centric approach. Our starting point is always the client’s business objective, around which we build an agency-agnostic, bespoke, integrated, agile agency and client team, seamlessly collaborating with other agency partners.”

Ioana Filip, chief creative officer, MRM UK said, “A powerful brand, a brave client, a category that plays such a meaningful role in people’s lives – what an amazing creative opportunity for us to create brand work that moves culture. There’s only a handful of brands out there that are present in people’s most pleasurable moments but at the same time save lives, stand against biases, and open meaningful intimate conversations across countries and cultures. Durex is right there at the top of that list. I’m beyond excited to continue the journey of creativity with impact that we’ve started with Reckitt brands across our McCann London and MRM New York offices and can’t wait to bring to life our first global creative work.”

This win follows a year of growth and creative recognition for the McCann Worldgroup network, which has announced new partnerships with Air India, Sky TV, Prudential, and Centrum in China, among others. Over the past six months MRM UK has also welcomed Unilever, Three and Macmillan Cancer as new clients. MRM was also recently named Large Agency of the Year at the ANA B2 Awards. In Europe the region was named Effies Most Effective Agency Network: Europe for an unprecedented 7th year and Campaign Magazine: Best Network: Europe for a record-beating fourth year. Globally the agency is coming off a strong showing at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, landing among the top five global networks and winning 55 Lions across 18 specific categories for 20 distinct clients, including a coveted Titanium Lion and three Grand Prix.